Anna Maria / beach ideas...

[alibeau]

Hi,

We are just gathering ideas for our summer 2022 holiday.

DH loves the ‘idea’ of the Maldives however I just don’t think it will suit us. We are not sun worshippers and not hugely into swimming in the sea Didn’t like AI on our last AI hol many years ago...

I have started to think we could tag a few nights onto our usual Orlando holiday in somewhere like Anna Maria or St Pete’s Beach? This would give us an idea of whether a ‘beach’ break is our thing or not... whilst still being able to access American ‘stuff’...

But where do I start?

I would be looking for a beachfront condo or villa.

Is the whole of Anna Maria island nice or is it more so towards the top end?

What is St Petes like theses days? We stayed there for a week many years ago and we really can’t remember much about it!

Any pointers where to start? This will probably be for the last week of June 2022.

I don’t think we would want to be any further from Orlando, a two ish hour sportive would be ideal.

Many thanks.

Ali x

[Hank]

Anna Maria Island is lovely much more laid back than St Petes Beach, If you do a search on Dibb there are plenty of threads which highlight the merits of AMI.

[Floridarules]

In my experience, all parts are perfect. You will pay more to be in the North end but we usually stay in the middle.
It’s beautiful

[halloweenbaby2]

We did a 5 night stay at John's Pass, near Clearwater ( we flew into Tampa ), we stayed in mini complex ( 6 bungalow type accommodation ) which I booked through Booking.com. It was an amazing start to our holiday. We aren't beach worshipper's but we went there every night to watch the sunset. We were lucky that as it turned out we were the only people staying in the complex so had the pool to ourselves.
I know most would do the beach stay at the end of a hectic Disney/ Universal holiday but just before we go away I get really busy and stressed with sorting everything out for business so it was amazing to unwind and destress before heading to Orlando, would definately do it again.
One of the things on our agenda at John's Pass was a Dolphin watch boat trip. However on our first night there we headed to the beach to watch the sunset, my girls were in the sea ( fully clothed after telling then to only dip there feet in! ) and there not far behind them were a pod of Dolphins jumping and playing. I was pointing and screaming like a looney for my girls to see but they were to busy splashing each other - the locals must of thought I was demented but it remains one of my favourite holiday memories. We then saw dolphins daily down by the harbour area so never needed to do the boat trip.
Even though we all love everything Orlando has to offer, we'd definately go to the coast for a few days again.

[alibeau]

Thanks all...

Good to know the whole of the island is an option as the top end did seem to be limiting us 👍🏻

Also and strangely, I fancy doing AMI at the start of the hol, a chance to wind down after what will no doubt be a busy build up to the hol and also when we leave Orlando we usually don’t pack overly neatly as we try to stuff all our shopping into any available space 🤣

Thanks for the input, I already feel a plan forming 👍🏻

Ali x

[Mqt]

When our children were little we always used to do Anna Maria at the beginning and then move on to Orlando once we had wound down. It suited us well.

We bought a property on Anna Maria which is on Holmes Beach but not directly on the beach. When we were ‘tourists’, especially with children, we always chose to stay on a house right on the beach, which meant we got the gorgeous views upon waking and the little ones could run out on to the sand and it was good for them being able to spend shorter periods on the sand and then come in for respite (repeat several times daily!). As the children got older and as we started to go on our own, we discovered the delights of some of the lovely houses with pools, or those on the inland waterways. A short walk to the beach wasn’t an issue as we could plan better and you didn’t need as much paraphernalia.

As previous posters have said, all areas of Anna Maria are lovely. The North end is generally ‘quieter’ but that doesn’t mean you can’t find quiet stretches of beach further South. Even Bradenton Beach has beautiful peaceful areas, despite it being closer to what is classed as the busier end. Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach have more shops, although all areas are accessible from the whole of the island.

If you’d like to try mainly using the island trolley and avoid using a car, there are certain parts of the North end which require quite a long walk to the nearest stop, so you’d need to bear this in mind when booking.

I’d say if you find a house or condo which you really like the look of, you can’t go far wrong. If you see something and want any advice on the immediate area, don’t hesitate to ask. We know Anna Maria very well.

[Loopylooloo]

We are hoping to stay here next time we get to Florida, what activities do you recommend on the island? Apart from enjoying the beautiful beaches!

[Floridarules]

Originally Posted by Loopylooloo

We are hoping to stay here next time we get to Florida, what activities do you recommend on the island? Apart from enjoying the beautiful beaches!

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To be honest, we don’t really plan activities at AMI as the laid back holiday is what we are after. It’s a welcome break from the planning of Disney or Universal.

We do enjoy walking up and down the beaches as well as fishing on the piers. As well of course as visiting the various eateries 😍😋

[Loopylooloo]

Originally Posted by Floridarules

To be honest, we don’t really plan activities at AMI as the laid back holiday is what we are after. It’s a welcome break from the planning of Disney or Universal.

We do enjoy walking up and down the beaches as well as fishing on the piers. As well of course as visiting the various eateries 😍😋

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Sounds perfect, I am sure I have seen some boarded walking trails but not sure where they are...

[Mqt]

Originally Posted by Loopylooloo

Sounds perfect, I am sure I have seen some boarded walking trails but not sure where they are...

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There are boarded walking trails at Leffis Key, which is at the Southern end of the island and at Robinson’s Preserve, which is great to cycle to. I think there are also some at Perico Preserve which is a nice place to visit.

I’d also recommend kayaking, a dolphin sunset boat and spending time on the amazing beaches.